Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (Arabic: جعفر بن محمد
الصادق‎‎; 700 or 702–765 C.E.), commonly known as
Jaʿfar al-Sadiq or simply al-Sadiq (The Truthful), was the sixth Shia
Imam and a major figure in the
HanafiHanafi and
MalikiMaliki schools of Sunni
jurisprudence.[5] He was a descendant of
AliAli on the side of his
father,
MuhammadMuhammad al-Baqir, and of
Muhammad ibn Abu BakrMuhammad ibn Abu Bakr on the side of
his mother, Umm Farwah bint al-Qasim.
Muhammad ibn Abu BakrMuhammad ibn Abu Bakr was raised
by Ali, but was not his son.[6]
AliAli used to say: "
MuhammadMuhammad Ibn Abu
Bakr is my son but from Abu Bakr's lineage".[7] Al-Sadiq is the 6th
imam and recognized by all
ShiaShia sects as an Imam, and is revered in
traditional
SunnismSunnism as a transmitter of Hadith, prominent jurist,[2]
and mystic.
Al-Sadiq was born in either 700 or 702 CE. He inherited the position
of imam from his father in his mid-thirties. As imam, al-Sadiq stayed
out of the political conflicts that embroiled the region, evading the
many requests for support that he received from rebels. He was the
victim of some harassment by the
AbbasidAbbasid caliphs, and was eventually,
according to most
ShiaShia Muslims, poisoned at the orders of the Caliph
al-Mansur.
He was a significant figure in the formulation of
ShiaShia doctrine. The
traditions recorded from al-Sadiq are said to be more numerous than
all hadiths recorded from all other
ShiaShia imams combined.[8] As the
founder of "Ja'fari jurisprudence", al-Sadiq also elaborated the
doctrine of Nass (divinely inspired designation of each imam by the
previous imam), and
IsmahIsmah (the infallibility of the imams), as well as
that of Taqiyyah.[9][10]
The question of succession after al-Sadiq's death was the cause of
division among Shias who considered his eldest son, Isma'il (who had
died before his father) to be the next imam, and those who believed
his third son
Musa al-KadhimMusa al-Kadhim was the imam. The first group became
known as the Ismailis and the second, larger, group was named Ja'fari
or the Twelvers.[11][12]

Birth and early life[edit]
Ja'far al-SadiqJa'far al-Sadiq was born in
MedinaMedina either in 80/699–700 or
83/703–704. On his father's side he was a great-great grandson of
Ali, the first
ShiaShia imam. His mother,
Farwah bint al-QasimFarwah bint al-Qasim was a
great-granddaughter of Abu Bakr. Al-Sadiq was the first of the Shia
imams to be descended from both
Abu BakrAbu Bakr the first ruler of the
Rashidun Caliphate, and Ali, the first
ShiaShia imam. However, Muhammad
Ibn
Abu BakrAbu Bakr believed that previous caliphs through taking over
Muslims' monarchy had overridden Ali's right to rule while no one else
was more worthy of the governing title than
AliAli was. Also about Osman,
He was convinced that he had weaseled out of God's commandments and
the prophet's tradition.[13][14][15] During the first fourteen years
of his life he lived alongside his grandfather Zayn al-Abedin, and
witnessed the latter's withdrawal from politics. He also noted the
respect that the famous jurists of
MedinaMedina held toward Zayn al-Abedin
in spite of his few followers.[16][17]
In his mother's house al-Sadiq also interacted with his grandfather
Qasim ibn
MuhammadMuhammad ibn Abu Bakr, who was respected by the people of
MedinaMedina as a famous traditionalist. During this period,
UmayyadUmayyad power
was at its climax, and the childhood of al-Sadiq was coincided with
the growing interest of the people of
MedinaMedina in prophetic science and
interpretations of the Quran.[17]
Imamate[edit]
See also: Imamah (
ShiaShia doctrine)
Al-Sadiq was thirty four or thirty seven when he inherited the
position of Imamah or imamate from his father
MuhammadMuhammad al-Baqir. He
held the imamate for 28 years, longer than any other
ShiaShia imam.[17]
His Imamate was a crucial period in Islamic history for both political
and doctrinal areas. Prior to al-Sadiq, the majority of Shias had
preferred the revolutionary politics of Zaid (al-Sadiq's uncle) to the
mystical quietism of al-Sadiq's father and grandfather.[2][17] Zaid
had claimed that the position of an imam was conditional on his
appearing publicly to claim his rights.[18][19] Al-Sadiq, on the other
hand, elaborated the doctrine of Imamate, which says "Imamate is not a
matter of human choice or self-assertion," but that each imam
possesses a unique Ilm (knowledge) which qualifies him for the
position. This knowledge was passed down from the prophet Muhammad
through the line of Ali's immediate descendants. The doctrine of Nass
or "divinely inspired designation of each imam by the previous imam",
therefore, was completed by al-Sadiq.[a] In spite of being designated
as the imam, al-Sadiq would hold, he would not lay claim to the
Caliphate.[12][19]
Under the
UmayyadUmayyad rulers[edit]
Al-Sadiq's Imamate extended over the latter half of the Umayyad
Caliphate, which was marked by many revolts (mostly by Shia
movements), and eventually the violent overthrow of the Umayyad
CaliphateCaliphate by the Abbasids, decedents of Muhammad's uncle, Abbas.
Al-Sadiq maintained his predecessors' policy of quietism, and played
no part in the numerous rebellions. He stayed out of the uprising of
Zaydits who gathered around al-Sadiq's uncle, Zayd, who had the
support Mu'tazilites and the traditionalists of
MedinaMedina and Kufa.[17]
Al-Sadiq also did not support the rebellion led by his cousin,
MuhammadMuhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya who was inspired by Kaysanites.[17]
Al-Sadiq played no part in the Abbassid rebellion against the
Umayyads.[2] His response to a message requesting help from Abu
Muslim, the Khorasani leader of the uprising against Umayyads, became
famous. al-Sadiq asked for a lamp and burned Abu Muslim's letter,
saying to the envoy who brought it, "Tell your master what you have
seen."[18] In burning Abû Muslim's letter he had also said, "This man
is not one of my men, this time is not mine."[20] Al-Sadiq also evaded
other requests for assistance to other claims to the throne, without
advancing his own claims. He had said that even though he, as the
designated imam, was the true leader of the Ummah, he would not press
his claim to the caliphate.[12]
Under the
AbbasidAbbasid rulers[edit]
The end of the
UmayyadUmayyad dynasty and beginning of the
AbbasidAbbasid was a
period during which central authority was weak, allowing al-Sadiq to
teach freely in a school which trained about four thousands students.
Among these were
Abū ḤanīfaAbū Ḥanīfa and Malik ibn Anas, founder of two
major
SunniSunni schools of law, the Hanafiyah and the
Malikiyah.[21][22][23] Wasil ibn Ata, founder of
Mu`tazilaMu`tazila school, was
also among his pupils. After the
AbbasidAbbasid revolution had overthrown the
UmayyadUmayyad caliphate, it turned against
ShiaShia groups who had previously
been its allies against the Umayyads. The new
AbbasidAbbasid rulers, who had
risen to power on the basis of their descent from Muhammad's uncle
Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, were suspicious of al-Sadiq, because
Shias had always believed that leadership of the
UmmahUmmah was a position
issued by divine order, and which was given to each imam by the
previous imam. In addition, al-Sadiq had a large following, both among
scholars and among those who believed him to be the imam.[11] During
rule of Al-Mansur, al-Sadiq was summoned to
BaghdadBaghdad along with some
other prominent men from
MedinaMedina in order for the Caliph to keep a
close watch on them. al-Sadiq, however, asked the Caliph to excuse him
from going there by reciting a hadith which said that "the man who
goes away to make a living will achieve his purpose, but he who sticks
to his family will prolong his life."[18] al-Mansur reportedly
accepted his request. After the defeat and death of his cousin
MuhammadMuhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya in 762, however, al-Sadiq thought it
advisable to obey al-Mansur's summons. After a short stay in Baghdad,
however, he convinced the Caliph that he was not a threat, and was
allowed to return to Medina.[2][9]
Toward the end of his life, he was subject to some harassment by the
AbbasidAbbasid caliphs. The governor of
MedinaMedina was instructed by the Caliph
to burn down his house, an event which reportedly did al-Sadiq no
harm.[b][18] To cut his ties with his followers, al-Sadiq was also
watched closely and occasionally imprisoned.[11]
Family life[edit]
Al-Sadiq married Fatimah Al-Hasan, a descendant of Al-Hasan ibn
‘Ali, with whom he had two sons,
Isma'il ibn JafarIsma'il ibn Jafar (the Ismaili
sixth Imām) and Abdullah al-Aftah. Following his wife's death,
al-Sadiq purchased a Berbery or Andalusian slave named Hamidah
Khātūn (Arabic: حميدة خاتون‎), freed her, trained her as
an Islamic scholar, and then married her. She bore him two more sons;
Musa al-KadhimMusa al-Kadhim (the seventh
TwelverTwelver imam), and
MuhammadMuhammad al-Dibaj. She
was revered by the Shias, especially by women, for her wisdom. She was
known as Hamidah the Pure.
Ja'far al-SadiqJa'far al-Sadiq used to send women to learn
the tenets of Islam from her, said that "Hamidah is pure from every
impurity like the ingot of pure gold."[24]
Imam Ja‘far also had a son called 'Is-haq', who reportedly married
Sayyidah Nafisah bint Al-Hasan. Nafisah was a descendant of Al-Hasan
ibn ‘Ali, and teacher of
SunniSunni Imam Ash-Shafi‘i.[25][26][27]
Death[edit]

The historical tomb of
Al-Baqi'Al-Baqi' was destroyed in 1926. Ja'far al-Sadiq
was one of four
ShiaShia imams buried here.

Al-Sadiq was arrested several times by
UmayyadUmayyad and
AbbasidAbbasid caliphs
Hisham, Saffah, and Mansur. According to some sources[c] he was
poisoned through at the behest of Mansur in 148/765 at the age of 64
or 65, leading to uncertainty about the future of the Imamate.[2][8]
He was buried in Medina, in the famous
Jannatul BaqeeJannatul Baqee cemetery, and
his tomb was a place of pilgrimage until 1926. The Wahhabis conquered
MedinaMedina for the second time in 1925, and razed many tombs to the
ground, with the exception of Muhammad's tomb.[28] According to
Tabatabai upon hearing the news of al-Sadiq's death, Mansur wanted to
put an end to the Imamate. Mansur reportedly wrote to the governor of
Medina, commanding him to read the imam's testament, and to behead the
person named in it as the future imam. However, the governor found
that al-Sadiq had chosen four people rather than one: Mansur himself,
the governor, the imam's oldest son Abdullah al-Aftah, and Musa
al-Kazim, his younger son.[8]
Succession[edit]
The
ShiaShia group had begun to split during the lifetime of al-Sadiq,
when his eldest son
Isma'il ibn JafarIsma'il ibn Jafar predeceased him. His death
occurred in the presence of many witnesses.[8] After the death of
Ja'far al-Sadiq, his following fractured further, with the larger
group, who came to be known as the Twelvers, following his younger son
Musa al-Kadhim. Another group believed instead that Isma'il had been
designated as the next imam, and that since he had predeceased his
father, the imamate had passed to Isma'il's son
MuhammadMuhammad ibn Ismail
and his descendants. This latter group became known as the Isma'ilis.
Some Isma'ilis believe that Isma'il had not actually died, but would
reappear as Mahdi, the rejuvenator of Islam in the
ShiaShia doctrine.
Still other groups accepted either
Abdullah al-Aftah or
MuhammadMuhammad ibn
Ja'far al-SadiqJa'far al-Sadiq (Al-Dibaj), both sons of the Ja'far al-Sadiq, as the
imam. A final group believed that al-Sadiq had been the last imam, and
that the lineage had not continued.
After the death of Musa al-Kazim, the majority of his followers
recognized his son
AliAli al-Ridha as the eighth imam, while others
believed that al-Kazim had been the last imam. This latter group
became known as the Waqifiyah.
No major divisions occurred in Shiaism from the eighth to the twelfth
imam, whom the majority of the
ShiaShia (Twelvers) considered to be
MuhammadMuhammad al-Mahdi. Among the sects which separated from the majority,
only
ZaidiyyahZaidiyyah and
IsmailiIsmaili continue to exist
today.[2][8][9][11][12][19][29]
Religious views[edit]
Al-Sadiq religious views are recorded as authority in the writing of
number of contradictory positions. The use of his name as an authority
within the Sufi, scientific,
SunniSunni legal,
IsmailiIsmaili and extremist
writings shows his importance as a figure within the development of
early Muslim thought.[30] According to
Ya'qubi it was customary for
anyone who wanted to relate a tradition from him to say "the Learned
One informed us". Malik ibn Anas, when quoting anything from al-Sadiq,
would say "The Thiqa (truthful) Ja'far b.
MuhammadMuhammad himself told me
that…" the same is reported from Abu Hanifa.[11][17] The works
attributed to him may be of dubious authenticity, but they do
establish his name at least as indicating a mastery of learning
generally, and the Islamic sciences in particular.[30] Though most
groups wished to recruit al-Sadiq's legacy for their own cause, the
most extensive source for his teachings is to be found within the
imami
ShiaShia tradition. For
TwelverTwelver Shias Ja'far al-Ṣadiq is the sixth
imam who established the Shiism as serious intellectual force in the
late
UmayyadUmayyad and early
AbbasidAbbasid periods.[30] According to Tabatabai the
number of traditions left behind by al-Sadiq and his father were more
than all the hadiths recorded from
MuhammadMuhammad and all the other Shia
imams combined.[8]
ShiaShia thought starting with Sayyid Haydar Amuli, and
leading to Safavid philosophers like Mir Damad,
Mulla SadraMulla Sadra and Qazi
Sa’id Qumi continuing to the present day is based on
ShiaShia imam's
tradition specially al-Sadiq.[10]
Ja'fari school of law[edit]
ShiaShia jurisprudence became known as
Ja'fari jurisprudenceJa'fari jurisprudence after Ja'far
al-Sadiq, whose legal dicta were the most important source of Shia
law. Like
SunniSunni law,
Ja'fari jurisprudenceJa'fari jurisprudence is based on the
QuranQuran and
the Hadith, and also based on the consensus (Ijma). Unlike the Sunnis,
Shias give more weight to reasoning ('Aql), while Sunnis only allow
for a kind of analogical reasoning (Qiyas).[19][30][31] Al-Sadiq is
presented as one who denounces personal opinion (Raʾy) and analogical
reasoning (qiās) of his contemporaries arguing that God’s law is
occasional and unpredictable, and that the servants' duty is not to
embark on reasoning in order to discover the law, but to submit to the
inscrutable will of God as revealed by the imam.[30] In his book
Maqbula Omar ibn Ḥanẓala (who was a disciple of al-Sadiq) asks the
imam how legal disputes within the community should be solved, and
whether one should take such cases to the ruler (Sultan) and his
judges.
Ja'far al-SadiqJa'far al-Sadiq replies in the negative saying that those who
take their disputes to the rulers and their judges get only soḥt
(unlawful decision). Instead al-Sadiq recommends an unofficial system
of justice for the community, and that the disputants should turn to
"those who relate our [i.e., the imams'] Hadiths". The reason for this
is that the imams have "made such a one a judge (ḥākem) over
you."[30]
Theology[edit]
Ja'far al-Sadiq's view on theology is transmitted through Mufazzel who
recorded his own questions and al-Sadiq's answers in a book known as
Ketab al-Tawhid in which al-Sadiq gives proofs as the unity of God.
This book is considered identical to the Ketāb al-ehlilaja which is a
reply to Mufazzel's request from al-Sadiq for a refutation of those
who deny God. Hesham ibn Ḥakam (d. 179/796) is another famous
student of the imam who proposed a number of doctrines that later
became orthodox
ShiaShia theology, including the rational necessity of the
divinely guided imam in every age to teach and lead God's
community.[30] Al-Sadiq is attributed with the statement: "Whoever
claims that God has ordered evil, has lied about God. Whoever claims
that both good and evil are attributed to him, has lied about God".
This view which is accordance with that of Mu'tazilite doctrine seems
to absolve God from the responsibility for evil in the world. Al-Sadiq
says that God does not "order created beings to do something without
providing for them a means of not doing it, though they do not do it,
or not do it without God's permission". Al-Sadiq expressed a moderate
view between compulsion (Jabr), and giving the choice to man (Tafviz),
stating that God decreed some things absolutely, but left some others
to human agency. This assertion was widely adopted afterwards and was
called "al-amr bayn al-amrayn" which meant" neither predestination nor
delegation but a position between the two."[9][18] Al-Ṣadiq's view
therefore is recorded as supporting either position as it is reported
in an exchange between him and an unknown interlocutor. The
interlocutor asks if God forces his servants to do evil or whether he
has delegated power to them. Al-Sadiq's answers negatively to both
questions. When asked "What then?" he replies, "The blessings of your
Lord are between these two".[30]
Tafsir[edit]
The works attributed to Jafar al-Sadiq in
TafsirTafsir (Quranic exegesis)
are mostly described as the Sufi-mystical works such as "Tafsir
al-Qorʾān", "Manāfeʿ ṣowar al-Qorʾān" and "ḴawāsÂsÂ
al-Qorʾān al-aʿẓam". The attribution of these works to al-Sadiq,
however, is suspected. In his books Ḥaqāʾeq al-tafsir and Ziādāt
Ḥaqāʾeq al-tafsir, ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Solami cites al-Ṣadiq as
one of his major (if not the major) source of knowledge concerning the
meaning of Quranic verses.[30]
"Ketāb al-jafr", an early mystical commentary on the
QuranQuran (Tafsir),
is also attributed to al-Sadiq.[11][30] According to Ibn Khaldun, it
was originally written on the skin of a young bull, allowing the imam
to reveal the hidden meaning of the Quran.[32] al-Sadiq is said to
have proposed a fourfold model of
QuranQuran interpretation. He said that
"The Book of God comprises four things: the statement set down , the
implied purport, the hidden meanings, relating to the supra-sensible
world, and the exalted spiritual doctrines." He said that the plain
meanings were for the common people; the hidden meanings for the
elite; the implied meanings for the "friends of god;" and the "exalted
spiritual doctrines" were the "province of the prophets."[29] He
stated that Hadith, or traditional sayings of the Prophet, should be
rejected if they contradicted the Quran.[9]
Doctrine of Taqiyyah[edit]
See also: Taqiyyah
Al-Sadiq adopted
TaqiyyahTaqiyyah as a defensive tool against the violence and
threats that were directed against him and the Shias.[2][19] Taqiyya
was a form of religious dissimulation,[33] or a legal dispensation
whereby a believing individual can deny their faith while they are in
fear or at risk of significant persecution.[34] In other words,
Taqiyya says that it is acceptable to hide one's true opinions if by
revealing them, one puts oneself or others in danger.[11] The doctrine
was developed by al-Sadiq, and served to protect the Shias when
Al-Mansur, the
AbbasidAbbasid caliph, conducted a brutal and oppressive
campaign against
AlidsAlids and their supporters.[33] According to Moezzi,
in the early sources Taqiyya means "the keeping or safeguarding of the
secrets of the Imams' teaching." "Divergence of traditions" is,
therefore, sometimes justified by
ShiaShia imams as a result of the need
for using Taqiyya. "He who is certain that we [the imams] proclaim
only the truth (Al-Haqq), may he be satisfied with our teaching,"
asserts al-Sadiq; "and if he hears us say something contradictory to
what he heard earlier, he should know that we are acting only in his
own interest."[20] Practicing Taqiyya also had an esoteric
significance for those who believed that their teachings should not be
comprehensible to ordinary Ulama, and so hid their more profound
teachings.[12]
Works[edit]
According to Haywood half a dozen religious works bear al-Sadiq's name
as author, though none of them can be firmly described as being
written by al-Ṣadiq. It is probable that al-Sadiq was an author who
left the writing to his students. The alchemist, Geber, for example,
suggested that some of his works are "little more than records of
Jaʿfar's teaching or summaries of hundreds of monographs written by
him."[9][18][19][32] Ja'far Al-Sadiq is also cited in a wide range of
historical sources, including al-Tabari, al-Yaqubi and Al-Masudi.
Al-Dhahabi recognizes his contribution to
SunniSunni tradition and Isma'ili
scholars such as Qadi al-Nu'man[35] recorded his traditions in their
work.[36]
Ketāb al-jafr is a commentary on the
QuranQuran which, according to Ibn
Khaldun, was first written on the skin of a young bull, which allowed
al-Sadiq to reveal the hidden meaning of the Quran.[32] Various
versions of his will, and a number of collections of legal dicta, are
attributed to him as well. There are many reports attributed to him in
the early
ShiaShiaHadithHadith collections such as
MuhammadMuhammad ibn Ya'qub
al-Kulayni's Kitab al-Kafi, where they are featured as central sources
of Imami doctrine.[2] "Al-haft wa'l-aẓella" and "Ketāb
al-ṣerāṭ" which are containing "secret revelations" to Mofażżal
are also attributed to al-Sadiq, and had an important role in the
elaboration of the esoteric doctrine of the Nosayris, for whom
al-Ṣadiq is an influential figure.[2]
Selected quotations[edit]

This article contains too many or too-lengthy quotations for an
encyclopedic entry. Please help improve the article by presenting
facts as a neutrally-worded summary with appropriate citations.
Consider transferring direct quotations to Wikiquote. (October 2017)

"The most perfect of men in intellect is the best of them in
ethics."[37]
"Whoever attacks a matter without knowledge cuts off his own
nose."[37]
"To forbid generosity is mistrust in Allah."[37]
"Three (things) with which Allah does not increase the Muslim person
but glory: To forgive him who wrongs him; to give him who deprives
him, to visit him who abandons him."[37]
"(Religious) scholars are the trustees of prophets unless they come to
the doors of supreme rulers."[37]
"The richest riche is he who is not captive for greed."[37]
"Nothing is better than silence, no enemy is more harmful than
ignorance, and no illness is more dangerous than telling lies."[37]
"Verily, envy eats belief as fire eats wood."[37]
"Three (things) cause affection: Religion, modesty, and generosity …
three (things) cause hatred: hypocrisy, self-admiration, and
oppression."[37]
"Charity is the
ZakatZakat (alms) of blessings, intercession is the Zakat
of dignity, illnesses are the
ZakatZakat of bodies, forgiveness is the
ZakatZakat of victory, and the thing whose
ZakatZakat is paid is safe from
taking (by Allah)."[37]
"If the ill- natured (person) knows that he tortures himself, he will
be tolerant in his manners."[37]
"He who answers all that he is asked, surely is mad."[37]
"Whomsoever God removes from the degradation of sin to the exaltation
of piety, he it is whom God makes rich without property and noble
without the help of family."[18]
"Whoever fears God, God makes all things fear him; and whoever does
not fear God, God makes him fear all things."[18]
"Allah Almighty has said: people are dear to me like family.
Therefore, the best of them is the one who is nicer to others and does
his best to resolve their needs."[38]
"One of the deeds Allah Almighty appreciates the most is making his
pious servants happy. This can be done through fulfilling their
hunger, sweeping away their sorrows, or paying off their debts."[39]

^
SunniSunni sources, however, claim that doctrines such as the Imamate
were formulated many years after al-Sadiq and wrongly ascribed to
him.[19]
^ The Shias consider this event as a miraculous escape from the fire
by their Imam, who is said "boldly stamped on the flames, exclaiming
"I am of the sons of Isma'il. I am a son of Ibrahim, the Friend of
God," whom the
QuranQuran represents as having escaped the fire in safety.
Quran, 21:69
^ al-Fusul al-muhimmah, p.212; Dala’il al-imamah, p.lll: Ithbat
al-wasiyah, p.142.